Twenty-Eight: Investigating the Den of Devils

Typhon displayed a notable concern regarding the name Cappadocia.

I thought to myself, "What the hell is Cappadocia supposed to be?" But I didn't ask. Right now, what we needed to do was focus on getting the Sealing Stone from Osmos, rather than digging into matters of hundreds or thousands of years ago.

Osmos said, "As you can see, this is a pocket dimension. Before the global catastrophe occurred, I initiated an evacuation protocol. My original intention was simply to hide away in this place alone; unexpectedly, the other people from Chinatown were dragged into it as well. And I, due to a bizarre reason, mutated into this form. I believe I am a demon now."

That made a reasonable amount of sense. This weird form of his was no more bizarre than Tanqi, and certainly not a patch on Belphegor.

Typhon asked, "Why were you able to foresee the disaster in advance? Who on earth were you before?"

Osmos replied, "I used to be a mage. When I was human, my name was Hulai. I belonged to the Labyrinth Guardians and held a very high position, arguably one of the very top tier. Through extensive analysis, I concluded that a cataclysm was coming, and at the same time, I sensed that those high-ranking Kindred were secretly preparing their own evacuations."

I said in astonishment, "Then you didn't have to hide so covertly and cause such a massive commotion."

Osmos said, "I am a cowardly person, so I overdid it. Moreover, a demon I summoned tampered with my experimental data, causing innocent people to be implicated. During my journey through space-time, that demon merged with me, and I became Osmos, the ruler of this small space, the god of this micro-dimension. But I can no longer leave; I cannot even step down from this chair."

I asked, "Then how do you go to the toilet?"

Typhon and Lamia clearly wanted to stop me from asking this question, but it was already too late.

Osmos said, "I no longer need to consume food, nor do I need to excrete. Why would you ask such a boring question?"

I thought to myself, "The things you talk about are boring to begin with."

Typhon stated, "What you did wasn't too excessive. Several hundred people were saved because of your actions. Whether you intended it or not, this is a great achievement."

Osmos said, "In fact, I saved three thousand five hundred people. Yet, during the first year, they hated me, brandishing flashlights, guns, and kitchen knives, wanting to slaughter me. But in this room, a single thought from me could kill them, so they retreated. We maintained a delicate equilibrium until later travelers described the cruelty of reality to them, and only then did our relationship ease."

The Broken Bell said, "They revere you, holding you up like a god."

Osmos said, "Yet they do not understand my pain, nor the price I paid." From beneath his cushion, a worm-like hand extended, pointing toward two patches of blood on the red-and-white tiled floor. He said, "My wife and son also joined the crowd that initially rebelled against me. I regret that they sought their own destruction in such a manner; I simply could not let traitors go unpunished."

His tone was so flat that we could not feel his sorrow, and we all felt that he actually didn't care.

Typhon said, "We can do something for you, as long as you give us the Sealing Stone."

Osmos replied, "Castle Osmos is located in a very dangerous place. This is a demon lair, the homeland of demons, and they frequently swarm in to slaughter my subjects. I do my utmost to drive those demons away, but it is not enough. Whenever the darkest hour arrives, many people die."

His meaning couldn't be clearer. Typhon asked, "How many of those demons are there?"

Osmos said, "No more than twenty arrive with each raid, but the exact number, I do not know. The range of my magical power cannot extend beyond the street gates. You must subdue the leaders of these demons for me and make them serve me instead, to protect Castle Osmos."

He used that monstrous hand to pass us some crystals, saying, "After defeating those demon leaders, shove the crystals into their wounds. The crystals will paralyze them and bring them to me. Then, I will give you the Sealing Stone and tell you how to use it."

Afterward, he made a gesture of seeing us off. A gorgeously dressed female demon walked out from the hall—somewhat resembling those purple ladies—and said, "Please follow me." She led us out of the palace. I figured this was a grueling chore, but we had no room for bargaining.

We walked toward the other side of the village, where walls had been constructed using steel plates, wood, and barbed wire. Astonishingly, there were heavy machine guns and rocket launchers mounted on the walls—quite an eye-opener.

I asked, "This fortress is really not bad. Where does the ammunition come from?"

The female demon replied, "Originally, there was a gang in Chinatown that built an underground arsenal in their cellar. A little less than half of the equipment is still usable. There is geothermal heat underground, which can generate a limited amount of power."

She pointed to the street gate on this side and said, "The four 'Everything under heaven is for the public' gates of Chinatown, according to Eastern legends, possess the function of warding off evil spirits and expelling demons. Usually, they help us curb the demons' desire to attack, but when the darkest day arrives, the defense line becomes extremely critical."

I stared at her for a long time and asked, "Aren't you a demon? Isn't Osmos a demon? Aren't you all repelled by the warding off of evil?"

The female demon said, "Demons permitted by Osmos are allowed to enter the four gates. Besides, I wasn't originally a demon; I used to be Hulai's assistant. My human name was Xu Qi, and now I am called Adriel."

She walked up to the gate and said, "Lord Osmos is not resigned to cowering in this village. Blind defense only leads to ultimate doom; he wants to build a thriving nation here. We need powerful warriors, we need to weaken the demons outside, and even more, we need reliable allies."

This Osmos looked like he had autism, but unexpectedly, he had quite a bit of ambition. I said, "You are outsiders, and these demons are the indigenous inhabitants. Aren't you occupying the magpie's nest while the dove sleeps?"

Adriel said, "We would rather become Israel, we would rather become America, than vanish from this world—even if it means sacrifice and slaughter."

Typhon smiled slightly, saying, "This is precisely human nature."

I replied, "Isn't it? And there's nothing wrong with that, especially here, where it's either you die or I live."

I found that I was still a human supremacist.

The female demon said, "According to scouting reports, after heading straight out from this gate, you will reach the Sharp Bone Prison. The Sharp Bone Prison is where demons gather. There may be hundreds or thousands of demons there. Please take care and ensure your success."

I was struck with terror and said, "Didn't you say there were only a dozen or so earlier?"

The female demon said, "Those were just guesses."

If there really were that many, even Typhon might not be able to save Lamia's and my little lives.

I asked her what color they were, and she said white, with occasional red ones.

I asked her if there were any black ones, and she said she hadn't seen any. I asked again, what about flesh-colored and pink ones? Lamia slapped me across the face.

Alas, these women never knew what kind of improper things they were thinking about all day long, yet their gazes made it seem like I deserved it.

I admitted defeat, I admitted defeat. Women are always right, and there is simply nowhere to reason with them.

But why did I feel that the Broken Bell was also looking at me with a trace of contempt?

Stepping out of Castle Osmos, one encountered unfamiliar woods and mountainous terrain. The trees here looked like sharpened wooden stakes used for roasting meat—bare and sharp like spears, with the scent of sulfur drifting everywhere. Everything was shrouded in a faint red glow, closely resembling hell from ancient books.

Along the way, white demons could frequently be seen. They gathered plants and also hunted wild beasts in the forest—creatures the size of hunting dogs that looked like beetles. To avoid trouble, we steered clear of them.

Adriel poked her head out from the hillside and pointed downward. It was a deep crater, resembling a circular valley on the lunar surface, possessing the exact appearance a demon habitat should have: sharp, piercing, dangerous, bloody, dark, and bristling with barbs, much like an alligator's parted jaws.

Typhon said, "Fishbone, go and scout the place out."

After taking the medicine, I turned invisible and went down the mountain, bypassing the demons blocking the way. The ground was littered with bones—human and beast alike. They were just like humans, not picky eaters at all.

These demons were much shorter than the demons commonly seen in reality, standing around one meter seventy or eighty. Were they transformed from humans? Or were they always like this?

There were far fewer demons in the cave than I had imagined, which brought some relief to my heart. I roughly counted them: about three hundred or so. If Typhon possessed combat effectiveness close to Vasilisa's, this battle could be handled. She was a meat shield, a damage dealer, and could self-heal; I could even safely watch the show from the rear.

A huge snoring sound made my heart tremble. I saw a black demon lying on a cliff, sleeping soundly. Two or three red demons accompanied it, perhaps its wives or concubines. I had no idea what it looked like when demons engaged in that sort of activity; perhaps I should take some photos and send them to Betty—that would surely sell well, but... it was more likely to ruin my reputation.

Three cliffs, three black demons. Not bad, Typhon could handle them too. But we had to be careful; I might actually have to break a sweat and exert some effort...

The ground beneath my feet suddenly shook, and thudding footsteps traveled deafeningly close. Firelight illuminated the depths of the cave, and I saw a lava demon emerge from the cavern. The demons were thrown into a commotion, hurriedly prostrating themselves on the ground to pay homage to the lava demon. The lava demon grabbed a white demon and ate it just like gnawing on a chicken leg. The demon's fresh blood pattered onto the ground.

It locked its golden eyes onto me. Terrified that the Waters of Amun would be ineffective against it, I immediately employed "Tracelessness" from the Mind Blade techniques. I banished the lava demon from my mind; when I didn't think about it, it turned a blind eye to me as well.

Doing this was like burying one's ears to steal a bell, but Helsing had personally tested it and found it effective. I couldn't think about... what was its name again? Anyway, I had to force myself to forget certain things—certain dangers.

Hahaha, what a joke, how could there be any danger? I was just strolling around in some unknown place.

Some huge beast was following behind me. Why was I sweating? It seemed to have approached me, lowering its head to sniff. Firelight illuminated the path ahead; I'd better yield the way a bit, respecting the elderly and caring for the young, you know.

It followed me for about fifty meters and then walked away. This non-existent thing suddenly surfaced in my mind, and I became uncontrollably terrified, turning tail and running. I worried it would chase me, but fortunately, it had forgotten about me too.

At the top of the mountain, Typhon asked me, "Very tricky?"

I said, "Extremely tricky. It's that kind of lava demon, roughly the size of Yuhne, and its strength is terrifyingly great. The last time we clashed with one, it almost flipped Yuhne over."